Pioneer - Act II: Avalon
by SparkofLeaves
Summary: With a victory over Skeletron under his belt, Scheil explores new lands and teams up with allies, new and old! The second installment of Pioneer, this one based very loosely on my experiences in my friend's server, melded with more of my imagination.
1. The Green World

NOTE: This is not related to the Avalon mods on the Terraria Community Forums. Avalon is simply the name of my friend's server world. (Actually, my friend made the server with a generic name, so we agreed on "Avalon" for its unofficial name.)

**- Chapter II.1: The Green World - **

Our tiny boat bobbed in the clear, foaming waves. The bunnies' paddles rolled forward in steady rhythm, their tiny white paws rowing with surprising strength.

On the dais behind me sat the captain, easily twice the size of a typical bunny. Her body was a ball of well-toned muscle concealed beneath a thick coat of silky white fur, like the rest of her crew.

And then there was me. Scheil of Corundia. A hapless adventurer who had somehow caught the attention of a spectre. Who had stumbled and tripped through Terraria's perils, just surviving by the skin of my teeth.

No. That wasn't right. Skeletron's defeat had come about through deterimination. Through repitition. Through technology and skill.

What about that vision? What should I make of the vision which rose from Skeletron's corpse? Of the city swallowed by Corruption and snow?

I lay my greasy, sticky crimtane blade across my lap. I preferred my chain-knife, but it seemed I would be replacing it soon. "Say-do you know where we're going, ma'am?" I asked the captain nervously.

Her nose twitching, the great rabbit nodded happily. Taking a well-preserved palm-frond sheet, the captain showed me a detailed map of the surrounding lands.

Up until now, I'd always imagined Corundia, Alabaster, and Hyperion as very linear; now, I could see that each territory was a piece of a larger continent- which was, in turn, part of a larger universe.

Alabaster had a natural border with Corundia, at the south edge of the tundra; but Hyperion-by far the largest territory-was separated by snowcapped ridges and a lush valley with a lake. The grass-cave must be connected to Hyperion's focus-point for me to be able to travel between Corundia and Hyperion.

Across the western sea from Corundia lay another continent-our destination, I realized. This land had a wavy coastline, sandy beaches spread between jagged ridges like a bat's wings. "Avalon." read the map label.

Avalon. The name was familiar. But why?

My pulse grew heavy and ominous as we approached the distant shore. Though my days in Corundia were not over, a new adventure was unfolding...

* * *

><p>Paddles sloshed heavily alongside the boat as we traveled upstream A thick fog surrounded us, tiny droplets of condensation on the bunnies' fur. I heard distant growls from roaming zombies in the woods.<p>

The boat was slowing, drawing close to the bank, gradually coming to a stop. With a small snuffling sound, the bunny captain took hold of a length of rope with her teeth and cast it around a nearby boulder.

After securing the loop, she looked up at me expectantly. I could feel the entire crew's gazes on me. Placing a handful of coins in front of the captain, I smiled in thanks, gathered up my weapons, and stepped out onto the foggy bank.

The mist began to lift as I walked through the woods, leaving the river behind me. Light was gathering on the horizon, the glow of the sun-stronger than all the fires of the Underworld. Slowly, its rays began to play across the land. In the wind, birds chirped a soft, uplifting melody.

"Fancy seeing you here."

A familiar accent, a familiar voice. Wincing, I turned around to face the adventurer behind me. "Rose," I said after a moment.

She wore a pharaoh's robe and a white rain-hat, a jellyfish necklace glowing on her chest. Her belt carried a several pouches of throwing knives, all stained with green poison. And in one hand, she held a gleaming pink sword witb a gold star on its hilt.

This was the woman who ravaged Corundia and left it in shambles-or so it had seemed. The one who taught me invaluable lessons, yet left me with numerous problems. I stared at her, conflicted, not sure how to respond.

She grinned. "I suppose you got the distress call too," said Rose lightly. "Shall we go exploring, good chum?" Without waiting for an answer, she took me by the hand and led me off.

Though the trees were tall and green as any on Corundia or Hyperion, their branches drooped as if burdened with some great we moved through the woods, I though I could sense someone else in the foliage, a third set of footsteps, a third pair of eyes...

Crossing another river, we came upon a large hill in the west, a chedt laying in the mouth of a beckoning tunnel. Further down, I discovered more chests, one at each turn, each containing money, potions, and supplies. It was enough to make me wonder: Was this tunnel someone's home?

Checking each chest along the way, I had trouble keeping up with Rose-and like before, she was out of sight and gone.

The tunnel opened into an icebound cavern-a world of undead vikings, ice bats, and snow flinxes. "Rose?" I called nervously as I slid down the rope.

There was no reply.

At that moment, several jets of ice struck me painfully in the back, causing me to lose my grip on the rope, a chill penetrating the warm platinum-and-meteor armor. As I fell, I caught a glimpse of a glittering ligjt-blue slime with a shell of jagged ice shards.

Numb and frozen, I broke through the ice and plunged into the water. Once again, everything was trying to kill me.

Perhaps I shouldn't panic. Perhaps, I should just... wait for the spectre. For the ghost-like figure who snatched me from death, and drew me back to safety.

The pain in my lungs intensified. There was no sign of the spectre. Was this to be my true death?

A pair of arms grabbed me, dragging me up and out from the water, Gasping, coughing up water, I was hoisted up onto the ice, icy water streaming out from my armor.

An unfamiliar face stared down at me, a jungle rose adorning red hair tied back into a ponytail. She appeared to be wearing crimtane armor under a now-sodden set of gold robes. "You okay, kid?" she muttered.

Numb and shivering, I nodded gratefully. "Sorry about your robes," I managed to say as my meteor armor began to warm me up again, chilling water dripping down around me. "I'm Scheil-you?"

She was already on her feet, scanning the ceiling. "Never mind the robes, they're cheap," said the girl, taking out a silver handgun. "So you're Scheil, then? The name's Avilin. Where's your beacon?"

"My... my what?"

Crack! Crack! Two gunshots rang out, and a pair of bats' remains hit the floor with wet squelches. "Your beacon," repeated Avilin. "It lets you talk with other adventurers in the same area."

She snapped her fingers, and a tiny crystal light appeared near my head. My eyes widened. I'd seen it before once, when Rose visited Corundia. That time, it was glowing green; now, it was colorless.

There was another crystal light floating near Avilin's head, this one a deep blue. "Beacons have four colored faction settings, in addition to the colorless default setting," she told me. "Set yours to blue. Just imagine the color blue when you touch it."

I reached out to touch my beacon, thinking of the alluring color of the open sea. At once, the tiny crystal light turned blue, and a glowing blue triangle appeared over Avilin's head. Some sort of locator spell, perhaps?

My eyes fell on another blue mark glowing in midair, and I suddenly remembered Rose. "Rose? You there?" I said into the beacon.

A momentary pause, then Rose's voice came through. "Right here. What's up?"

"I just ran into-" I stopped and frowned. "Where did you go, anyway? I lost track of you."

She snickered. "Are you still back in that other tunnel, you chump? Don't bother, there's nothing else of value. I've cleaned it out."

"Rose? You're talking to Fuwaa?" Avilin was suddenly staring at me. "She's here too?"

I blinked. "You two know each other?"

"Well, I know 'of' her." Avilin sounded as if I should know this already. "I'd have to, considering where I live. I've heard of you too, of course."

I stared at her "I... I don't understand. This land is Avalon, right?"

"That's right-Avalon, home of the Adventurers' Guild. Or at least, it used to be." She hurried through that second sentence. "Let's see-your world was Corundia... oh, Jack's world."

Ah! That was where I'd first heard of Avalon! The Guild of Adventurers in Avalon had sent the guides to Corundia: Jack, then Kyle, then Bradley. And the guides in other lands answered to the Guild as well: Luke, Seth, and Zach.

I was beginning to feel warm and cosy within my meteor armor. Still, something prickled at me. "Did something happen to the Guild?"

Flinching, Avilin slowly nodded "The Corruption has existed in Avalon since our earliest records, but it was never a problem until now. One year ago, the Corruption emerged from dormacy, rotting away the earth beneath our shining city in the snow..."

The vision! The vision of the city in the snow, collapsing into the Corruption... "Though we fought hard, we had no chance against the forces of nature, however twisted they had become. And thus... our city-our Guild, our pride-was swallowed whole."

Avilin's hat slipped, obscuring her face-but I heard the cracks in her voice as she spun to face me and clasped my wrists, reeking of raw emotion. "The Guild has fallen, Scheil-and I want you to help me bring it back."


	2. Avilin of Avalon

Returning to the surface, Avilin and I set up camp in a field near the river where I'd disembarked from the bunnies' ferry. I set up a makeshift workshop-workbench, furnace, and anvil-before Avilin returned with two potato sacks over her shoulders, filled with stone and red lumber.

Dropping off the potato sacks, she set up some topographical equipment and began to wander the field. "The chasms disrupted Avalon's internal polarity, causing the magnetic fields to shift," she muttered, holding out a straight-edge. "The focus point is now located... right about..."

Hopping down from a small rock ledge, she stepped over to one spot in particular. "Here." And she marked it with torches for now.

The focus-point-or the "spawn-point", as the most avid veterans called it-was the place that connected Avalon to the vast host of dryads across Terraria, responsible for restoring fallen adventures to life.

And yet... even with such a great host of dryads working in tandem, an emissary was still needed. Without the spectre to bring our souls backr to the focus-point, resurrection could not happen.

Though he'd been the one to convince me to come here in the first place, I hadn't seen the spectre in Avalon yet. Did that mean I was not under his protection, for now?

Sleeping through the afternoon, we awoke as dusk approached. The bunnies' boat had returned and was now safely moored on the riverbank, but there was no sign of the crew.

"Even bunnies have to sleep at some time," said Avilin as we set up a campfire near the focus-point. "They have little dens nearby, I'm sure."

Huddling into a ball, I stared into the comforting, nourishing flames as the sun dipped below the horizon. "Hey, Avilin?" I asked finally.

"Just call me Al," she said, putting a potato on a stick and roasting it over the fire like a marshmellow. "What is it?"

"Tell me more about the guild."

She hesitated. "There are other guilds, but this is the only one I've ever known," said Avilin. "At its heart, the Guild was formed to unite adventurers. Together, they could overcome challenges that would have been insurmountable alone."

Teammates? Yes, Rose had been insufferable at times but... "More importantly, the guild trains the guides," added Al. "With their vast knowledge on crafting and monsters, the guides help new adventurers to survive."

I swallowed. How hard had the guides trained and worked, only to die because a new adventurer couldn't protect them? Had the guides been Al's friends? "I'm sorry," I mumbled. "Two guides died because of me."

Al shook her head. "The guides are volunteers," she assured me. "They knew the risks before they even came to the guild. And despite all that, they're willing to perform their duty."

We were silent. Rose was to blame for Kyle's death, in part at least-but Jack's death had been entirely my fault. Even knowing they accepted death as a possibility, I... I still couldn't dispel this feeling of guilt.

"I've been hiding out for a month or two now," admitted Avilin as we sat by the fire. "We adventurers can't last long without a support group like the guild, you know. Sooner or later, something picks us off."

I stared into the flames. "Maybe Rose could help..."

With uncanny timing, our beacons came to life. "Not a chance! I'm in my private den, peasants," said Rose, her voice filtering through the tiny crystal lights. "Neither of you are cool enough to get in. Bye!"

The beacons went silent, and a blue locator mark appeared in the distance. "Let's go find Rose before she gets herself killed," sighed Al, loading up her handgun with fresh bullets. "Come on."

Nodding, I picked up my crimtane sword and followed after her.

A few grass-caves, a few slopes; we bounded through the woods toward Rose's locator, coming to a stop in the shadows of a Living Tree.

"Ah! Here we go," muttered Al, squatting next to a deep, narrow pit. The opening was clearly too small for either of us to fit inside. Was this Rose's den?

Images flashed through my head-potted plants, a few paintings, a bed made of leaves, fenceposts and rope littered everywhere. Yes... I could see Rose living in such a place.

Al looked at me and raised her pickaxe, positioning herself over the narrow hole. "Let's take care of this, shall we? Stand back-to-back with me. You on the right, me on the left."

I was taking out my pickaxe when I suddenly realized what we were doing. "Are you sure we should..."

"Definitely sure," she replied. "Ready? Go."

We started tunneling down with incredible speed, our pickaxes widening the narrow shaft with rapid hacks. Sparks flew as platinum and crimtane toolheads struck stone, tearing through the soil.

About a hundred feet down or so, the dirt under our feet crumbled, and we both tumbled down into a small grass-cave. Brushing dirt off my armor, I lit a torch and got to my feet. In the middle of the cave lay Rose, fast asleep.

The cave was completely empty. No bed of leaves, no fence-posts or ropes, no flowerpots; just Rose, alone in this little cave. "Hey, you there," said Al, gently kicking the sleeping girl. "Get up."

"Huh?" Rose's eyes opened slowly at first-then suddenly, she sat upright. "My den!" she cried, staring around the barren cave, aghast. "Everything's gone! Why?"

No. Not everything was gone. I stooped down to pick up a dusty picture frame that had fallen in the dust. "What do you mean?" asked Avilin.

Rose pressed her palm to her cheek. "I... I don't know," she said after a moment. "I was talking to you two through the beacon a moment ago. And then...I kinda just drifted off."

In the dim torchlight, I was able to make out two smiling girls in the picture before Rose tugged it away from me. "Well, we're here now," said Al, helping Rose up. "It's not safe here, though. Come back to camp with us."

Climbing back to the surface, the three of us headed back to camp.

"You must be Avilin," said Rose as we crossed under the roots of a living tree. "I've heard about you. Living in the snow for the last two weeks."

Al nodded. "And you're Rose Guriri," she replied. "The pleasure is mine."

We spent the rest of the night by the campfire, fending off zombies.


	3. Guild of Adventurers

**Chapter II.3: Guild of Adventurers**

The next day, the three of us got to work. Taking the stone-filled sacks to the furnace, Avilin began to craft gray bricks while telling us about the guild's fall. Though I had seen the fall of Avalon in that mysterious vision, I listened eagerly.

"The guild had a number of contingency plans in the event that the Corruption awoke from dormancy," said Al, crushing stone fragments into mortar with her hammer. "Unfortunately, none of the plans considered the possiblity that chasms might open within the city itself."

With wood and iron, Rose and I built a supply chest, placing it by the fountain. "When the Eater of Worlds attacked our city, it awoke several pockets of Corruption that had been long buried beneath the snow..."

Using the gray bricks, we helped Al to build a fountain on Avalon's focus-point. Rose carried buckets of water between the fountain and the river while I hammered bricks into slopes. "We fought the Corruption for days, but it was spreading too quickly. Soon, the guildmaster ordered us to evacuate."

Rose began to build a house next to the fountain while Avilin and I used the remaining gray bricks to pave over the ground. "By then, the gates were choked with vile thorns. I managed to escape through the chasms, but... I haven't found any other survivors yet."

We stood back to admire our handiwork. "We were fighting a force of nature-and we lost," admitted Avilin, her voice cracking. "There's nothing left of the city now. Whatever didn't crumble was lost to the blizzards..."

She turned to me. "Still, between the three of us, I think we can rebuild the guild."

Was this why I was here? To rebuild that shining city? But I was just a struggling adventurer. Not even someone with skill-just lucky at all the right times, it'd seemed. How could I help fulfill Avilin's request?

Returning, Rose planted a gravestone next to the fountain. "I declare this to be the Land of Tombstones," she said jauntily. "Huzzah! My house is complete."

Rose's house-or at least, the foundations that would become her house-stood between the focus-point and the river. It was also much larger than any house I'd ever built.

Her house was like the things that she'd built on Corundia. The walls of her house, for instance, were made of wooden posts and rope. The roof was made from wooden planks, strung together with more rope. "That's a pretty house, Rosy," remarked Avilin, reaching for the red lumber. "I'll start on mine. You gonna build a house too, Scheil?"

Part of me was worried about what might be happening back home in Corundia. Still, I didn't know when I would be able to return. For now, I might as well set up a semi-permanent shelter. "I... I suppose I will," I answered.

Borrowing some of Avilin's bricks, I built a tiny dwelling next to the outdoor workshop. True to the houses I'd built on Corundia, it was more like a fox's den than a house, with the ground sloping up to the top of the back wall. I was rather proud.

Then, I turned around and saw what Avilin had been working on. It was larger than Rose's house, a wooden building with planked supports and topped with rich mahogany shingles. There was a sign hung above the front door.

A hanging sign, huh? I'd never thought about hanging a sign from a ceiling. "'Avilin's bar,'" I read aloud, holding up a torch so I could read the sign. "'Freshly brewed ale, made with... high-quality potatoes?'"

"What? I like potatoes," said Al, appearing in the doorway, hefting a hot potato in a gloved hand. Inside, I saw the glow of a furnace illuminating a few tables, a worn chest in the corner. Rudimentary... but cozy. More cozy than my house, anyway.

On the gravestone that Rose left by the fountain, I noticed Al had inscribed a name: Falador XVI. "Previous guildmaster," she explained. "Best I can do for him."

Night was falling again; the entire day had slipped away as we erected our houses. Avilin and I retreated to the bar while Rose bounded off in search of loot. "What sort of equipment do you carry?" asked Al.

I showed Al my space gun. "This, a crimtane sword, and a chain-knife."

Blinking, Avilin took the space gun to the counter and peered at it closely. "This gun doesn't use bullets," she said after a moment. "It runs on a mana adapter. Are you a mage?"

I shook my head. I'd never held a magical weapon in my life... or so I had thought. "I just... hooked it up to my suit. I never had a problem with mana."

Al frowned at me for a moment, then grinned. "You have meteor armor under there, I take it? From the way this gun looks, your suit is enough to power this gun. Don't try it with any other guns with mana adapters, though."

Mana adapters. I stared as she handed me back the gun. "So, what's Corundia like?" asked Avilin. "Much jungle there?"

I shook my head. "Lots of desert, lots of snow... and Crimson. Some jungle, I suppose."

"Odd," muttered Al, looking at the floor. "Corundia takes its name from a mythical city in the heart of the jungle. If you believe what the foxes say, anyway."

I shivered. The Crimson. Was Tatiana managing to conduct her research safely? What if the Crimson managed to escape from the glass barrier? "I'm sorry to hear about your guild," I managed to say. "But... I'm kind of grateful that Avalon has Corruption, and not Crimson."

"Really? I think the Crimson looks much better," said Al, amused. "It really gets the blood pumping, wouldn't you agree? Like there's something there to fight against. While the Corruption is just... well... depressing."

I stared at her blankly. Surely, she wouldn't be saying that if the Crimson had swallowed the guild-

A sudden wave of fear swept over us, followed by a deep, familiar growl. Avilin and I raced outside to find Rose standing by the fountain, holding up a supicious looking eyeball to the sky. "Hi there," she called to us, starfury in hand. "The Eye of Cthulhu should be joining us in a moment."

I grimaced-but surely I could handle the Eye now, considering how I'd fared against Skeletron. "Give some warning first," sighed Avilin, loading fresh bullets into her handgun. "Ready, Scheil?"

Crimtane sword raised, I nodded. "Ready."

Staring up at the sky, we watched as the Eye of Cthulhu descended from the stars. And yet, something felt odd; the Eye evoked cold despair, not hot panic.

Avilin started firing as Rose and I leapt up toward the Eye, weapons raised-Rose with a cloudy burst, I with hissing spectre boots. Landing a deep slash across the Eye's iris, I hit the ground, rolling to one knee.

Starry lights fell from the sky as Rose swung her pink blade, flashing around the Eye, Al's bullets streaking around us. Furious, the Eye opened its jaws, the pupil splitting open as it flew just out of sight.

We stared at each other as the Eye circled us from the shadows, snarling furiously, hungrily. "Rose, check the fountain," ordered Al, gun raised, hair flapping. "Scheil, watch from above. I'll-"

"Al! Watch out!" shouted a voice. Avilin whirled around as the Eye came charging at her with a mighty roar. At the same time, a boy with a straw hat and blue shirt leapt forward and tackled her to the ground, just out of harm's way.

"Metatyph! You're alive!" spluttered Al as the Eye rose up into the air again. "What's going on? Why are you here?"

Starfury raised, Rose kept her gaze on the furious Eye overhead while I joined Avilin and the boy. "I've been looking for you, of course," replied the boy, looking her over nervously. "You all right?"

Rubbing her forehead, Avilin got to her feet. "Yeah," she muttered, glancing to Rose and me. "This is my friend, Typh-he was with the guild too. Come on, guys-we've got an Eye to kill. I'll tell you guys more later."

Beneath the fountain, the four of us stood in a ready line-Rose with her pink blade, Avilin with her handgun, Metatyph with a wooden bow, and I with my space gun.

As the Eye dove at us again, we opened fire on the great demon together, blasting it relentlessly. With a shuddering, howling scream, the Eye burst open in a shower of bloody fragments.

Weapons clattering to the pavement, we stared at each other blankly, silently. Overhead, we could hear the low rumble of thunderheads, heavy rainclouds gathering.

I could hear the faint sound of clappng. Slowly, I turned to see a familiar hooded figure in ghostly robes, standing in the fountain.

At last, the spectre had come.


	4. Recall

**Chapter II.4: Recall**

* * *

><p>Raindrops hit the pavement in a steady rhythm as the spectre approached us with silent steps, examining us. "And then, there were five," said the spectre. "You've come along well, all of you."<p>

The sleeve of his translucent robe brushed against me as he passed. He was truly here. Not some mere apparition, as he had been at Corundia. The one who guided me. Who reassured me. Who led me here.

For once, Rose looked unnerved. "A spectre," whispered Avilin, one hand outstretched. "A spectre... pardon the expression... in the flesh."

His eyes glowed beneath his hood, raindrops rolling down his robes without soaking in. "You needn't look so surprised," the spectre told her calmly. "It's not by chance that you've all gathered here, after all."

"Hey, question?" called Metatyph, tenatively raising his hand. The rest of us all fell silent as the spectre turned to face him. "SO um... who are you, exactly?"

With growing apprehension, we watched as the spectre approached Metatyph, who took a step back. "I am Mystery-of-the-Fallen-Sea, but Myste shall suffice," said the spectre quietly, a faint chill in his voice. "I am a spectre. One of an ancient order which has nurtured adventurer guilds from the shadows."

He began to pace around us, looking each of us in the eye. "One by one, each of you answered the call," continued Myste. "The jubilant Witch Fuwaa. The intrepid Scheil. The hardy Metatyph. Avilin, heir of Avalon, you now have the means to restore the guild to glory."

The clocks said that dawn was breaking, but the rain-clouds puffed and swelled, blocking out the rising sun's rays. As the rain began to pick up momentum, we adjourned to Avilin's bar.

Rose, Metatyph, and I took a seat at the table while Myste leaned against the wall, watching us silently. I opened my mouth-I had many questions for the spectre-but he simply shook his head. Not now, he seemed to be saying.

"So Typh, how did you get here?" asked Avilin as she poured us mugs of ale. "Last I heard, you were with the guides-in-training on their retreat."

Metatyph nodded. "We were camping near the Dungeon when the Eater of Worlds attacked us," said the boy, grimacing. "Most of the students were slaughtered right away. I've been on the move ever since."

Al frowned. "How come you didn't come back to the guild?" she asked. "I've been hiding in the city tunnels for weeks and never saw you."

"I- I'm sorry," stammered Typh. "Instructor Andrew tried to contact the guild, but got nothing. We eventually realized that the guild had fallen. I've been looking for you ever since, hoping you somehow escaped." He smiled weakly. "Glad you did."

Avilin sighed. "What a mess," she muttered. "Anyone else survive?"

Metatyph looked into his mug. "I managed to grab Darren, and we escaped to the Living Tree." A deep breath. "We hid in there for a few days. Darren's catching some sleep in that brick dugout over there."

That meant my house. Great. "You made it to Lady Elysia's tree," said Avilin thoughtfully. "Probably no sign of her, right?"

Typh nodded. "Some chasms opened up west of the tree. And of course, dryads flee as soon as the Corruption sets in."

"Damn," muttered Al, pacing around the bar. "We'll have to go hunt for her later." Her eyes fell on Rose and me. "Oh, right. Typh, this is Scheil Rose Guriri. As the sp... as Myste said, they're here to help rebuild the guild."

"Witch Fuwaa, at your service," chirped Rose happily. "I specialize in rope and... shall we say..." She fluffed her hair. "And building stylish buildings."

"I'm Scheil from Corundia, across the sea," I said nervously, shaking Metatyph's hand. "Nice to meet you."

Metatyph smiled warmly. "Glad to meet you both," he said. His voice was subtly cheerful. "The name's Metatyph Tempest, former Guild resident. Not formally an adventurer, but I look forward to working together."

At that moment, a ball of blue-white flame floated through the wall and flew to Myste's side. Blinking, I recalled the blue-white flames that had surrounded Myste on my first night in Terraria. A wisp!

We watched as Myste and the wisp exchanged a few inaudible words. Then, the spectre nodded, and the wisp came to rest above Myste's head. "Aria examined your defenses, and finds them deplorable," said Myste quietly. "We ought to build a tower in case of raids."

Aria, I gathered, was the wisp's name. Avilin fetched some paper and pencils from the chest and brought them to the table. "Let's draft some blueprints first," she suggested. The spectre nodded and took a seat.

Rose stood up as they sat down. "In that case, I'll be off to gather supplies," she said jauntily, putting down her empty mug. "So long, good chums!" Opening her umbrella, she skipped out the door and into the rain.

Typh and I got up as well; it didn't look like we were needed. "Come on, I'll introduce you to Darren," said Metatyph. Nodding, I followed him outside. I still wanted to talk to Myste later, once he had a moment.

The sky was brightening to a cool silver as rain splashed down our clothes and around our feet. Drab, some might call it-but to me, soft and beautiful.

Crossing over to my house, we entered to see a guide asleep on my bed. Metatyph gently shook him awake. "Hey, Darren. Wake up."

Stirring, Darren sat up, rubbing his eyes. "Huh? Typh?" he mumbled. He was very young for a guide, no older than nineteen. Blinking, he stared at me warily. "What's going on? Who's he?"

Up until now, I'd respected all the guides I'd worked with. This one? Not so much. "Scheil, owner of this house," I said stiffly, reluctantly shaking Darren's hand. "I... I'm here to help rebuild the guild, I guess. What were you-uh-doing in my bed?"

His head drooped. "Sorry, sir," muttered Darren, looking down at his lap; he seemed afraid that I might punish him. "I was exhausted from the long journey, and Typh brought me to the nearest place. I... didn't mean to intrude."

"No, no, it's fine." How long had the guild stood? How many guides had the guild sent out to neighboring lands over the years? A legacy of knowledge and skill, passed down from teacher to student for eons... but now, the guild's guides were gone. Except one.

"I... I wasn't at the top of my class or anything, but I know most of the crafting supplies," said Darren tenatively as Metatyph helped him over to the table, setting a bowl of hot soup in front of him. "I... I guess I could serve as the Guide for the new Avalon? If it's all right with everyone..."

"Of course it's all right."

Back outside, the rain was thinning out. Behind the bar, I saw Avilin at the top of a low slope, standing next to a large glass tank filled with water. There was a small compartment on the side of the tank, near the top. "What on earth is this?"

Avilin tilted her head back to me. "Haven't you heard of liquid generators?" she replied calmly. I thought for a moment. The books from Corundia's dungeon had mentioned liquid generators, yes, but I'd never looked into how they functioned, let alone how to build one.

"These will work, but they'll be very slow," said Myste as he joined us, watching Al's progress. "Water in the input compartment flows into the main tank with twice the volume. But, one still needs to refill the input compartment regularly."

Over the next few hours, Myste and Avilin began crafting more stone bricks with Darren's help, while Typh and I harvested stone for them. This wasn't too hard; there were a number of exposed stone veins along the river.

Around noon, Typh set down his pickaxe. "That should be enough stone," he mumbled, sitting down on a stump and taking some food out from his pack. "Say, where's Rose?"

As Al and Myste began laying bricks, I glanced around for Rose's beacon. Not in the field-not in the bar-not in her house. I sighed inwardly. Where did she run off this time? "I'll go fetch her."

Under Rose's house, I discovered a large pit, sort of like a basement. There was a deep, vertical shaft leading straight down into the underground. A hellevator, perhaps? Was this what Rose had been doing all along?

Taking one of Rose's spare umbrellas, I donned a mining helmet and leapt down the shaft.

The wind swelled into the umbrella as if it were a parachute, slowing my fall. Dirt yielded to stone; grass yielded to moss. How deep was this shaft?

Suddenly, the tunnel opened into a massive space, larger than any cavern, than any house. I was so astonished that I nearly lost my hold on the umbrella. I felt as if I had fallen beneath the edge of the world. Down, down, down; I descended into the abyss-screaming all the way.

About halfway down, I started picking up signals from Rose's beacon again-jumbled, scattered signals. 500 feet below me...300 feet below me... then 250 feet above me. 50 feet east... 150 feet east and down... 400 feet above me.

Adjusting my mining helmet I saw skeletons and slimes falling into the darkness before being cast up into the air again, falling endlessly. Giant worms exploded into blood around me, reappearing miraculously unharmed before exploding again. What was happening? I might still be a novice at Terrarian physics, but I was pretty sure this was abnormal.

Without warning, my feet touched solid ground, knees buckling. Breathing hard, I closed the great umbrella and got up, staring around Overhead, I saw Rose, trapped in the same falling cycle as the skeletons. "Rose?" I shouted up to her. "What's going on?"

Again and again, Rose fell; each time, before hitting the ground, some invisible force would cast her high up into the air. "You too, huh?" she laughed weakly, helpless to break her fall. "Hey... throw me some gel, could you? I... I'm out of torches."

Fumbling with my pack, I took out a large clump of gel and threw it up to Rose, who managed to catch it in midfall. "Thanks," she gasped as she was flung high into the air again, striking a torch. "Catch."

She tossed a round hand mirror at me, which I managed to catch. "Turn around, close your eyes, and count to thirty-aagh!" Once again, she was flung back up into the air.

"Wait! Why?" I cried. Much as I had hated what she did in Corundia, I couldn't help but feel sorry for her. Was there nothing I could do?

"Just do it!" she urged me as she fell once again. "After thirty, look in the mirror. And I-and whatever you do-don't open your eyes early!"

Reluctantly, I did as she ordered, and began to count. As I closed my eyes, I felt that power, that feeling surge inside me again, like tiny claws inside my blood. And yet, it didn't hurt, didn't throb...

As I reached the count of ten, the smell of fresh blood filled the air, warm and swollen. A faint vibration under my feet slowly rose into a deep, circumsonous growl. Something was approaching-a nameless thing that was too large to describe-

At fifteen, I heard Rose scream, then abruptly fall silent. "R-Rose?!" I cried out, shaking. No. She had said to keep my eyes closed. And yet-I felt as if that thing, that terrible prescence was staring down at me, eyeing me as its next prey...

At twenty, the prescence began to retreat. Slowly, its growls faded, the scent of fresh blood receding, the fear draining away...

Thirty. Opening my eyes, I spun around... and Rose had vanished without a trace. Searching the ground under where she had been, I found her beacon.

She was gone. That terrible prescence had taken her. Shuddering, I curled up into a ball, wishing that warm feeling power would return. Then, striking a torch, I looked at the mirror that Rose had tossed me.

The mirror did not show my surroundings or the torchlight; it reflected me, and only me, as if I was standing in a white fog. On the edges was written a single word: Recall.

"Recall...?"

The moment I said that word, the mirror glowed bright. I would have dropped it-but I could not move my fingers or arms, as if my body had been frozen in time. Sparks of blue-white light flew from the mirror, enveloping me, blotting out my surroundings...

A cool breeze filtered through the links in my chanimail, the sun setting on the east horizon. I yelped as water splashed down around me, nearly dropping the mirror. I was in the fountain. The fountain on the surface which marked Avalon's focus-point.

That was Rose's last gift to me. Not just a mirror, but an escape. An escape from whatever terrible fate had claimed her. Climbing out of the fountain, I headed for my house, growing tired.

Before I reached my front door, however, I caught sight of the finished tower in the distance, built on top of the liquid generators. My jaw dropped.

This was a tower to rival anything I'd ever built. Encircled by a lava moat, the tower's gray walls were over twice the height of Avilin's bar, an observation deck overlooking the field. Inside, a spiral staircase rose around a central wooden beam, which had been decorated with trophies.

"So, what do you think?" said Myste quietly from behind me, causing me to jump. "Impressive, no?"

* * *

><p>NOTE: For those curious about what happened to Rose, it's a server glitch where part of the map fails to spawn, leaving a massive square hole. Objects in this space will appear to fall endlessly, including other players.<p> 


End file.
